Solved Curing Your Medical Insurance Problems

Consumer protection advocate Ralph Nader praised Solved! Curing Your Medical Insurance Problems: "Who hasn't been bewildered and outraged by lengthy, inscrutable medical bills and the tricky ways of the health insurers? ....Learn what to watch out for in this volume by authors who know the inside ways of sellers who try to take you to the cleaners." Some say, "You get what you pay for." If only this were true! Too often, consumers find themselves paying much more than they expected, getting much less than they bargained for. Medical care is no exception. In their book, the authors show readers how to spot over-charges by providers, under-reimbursements by insurers, and inappropriate denials by insurers and government employees. Furthermore, they presented steps to take to prevent being victimized by "the system." And what is the system? In America, it is a hybrid of private healthcare providers, massive insurance companies, and governments at the state and national levels. Unlike Britain with its single-payer National Health System, this public-private mixed-breed creates the need for patient advocate professionals, who take up the cudgels on behalf of the medically disadvantaged and the financially strapped.

"You get what you pay for." If only this were true! Too often, consumers find themselves paying much more than they expected, getting much less than they bargained for. Medical care is no exception. In the U.S. edition of this book - Solved! Curing Your Medical Insurance Problems - the authors showed American readers how to spot over-charges by providers, under-reimbursements by insurers, and inappropriate denials by insurers and government employees. Furthermore, they presented steps to take to prevent being victimized by "the system." And what is the system? In America, it is a hybrid of private healthcare providers, massive insurance companies, and governments at the state and national levels. Unlike Britain with its single-payer National Health System, this public-private mixed-breed creates the need for patient advocate professionals, who take up the cudgels on behalf of the medically disadvantaged and the financially strapped. The material presented here may serve as an object lesson for those countries that would create or maintain mixed public-private financing and management of medical care.

America has wealth, innovation, and access to the best of everything. So why is our health-care system so broken? Why does it cost more than ever and deliver less? How do we solve the problems of the uninsured and seniors who lack drug coverage? And equally important, why is the Canadian system, widely touted as a sparkling example of compassion and universal access, actually a disastrous model to be avoided?

Veteran health care insider Stephen S. S. Hyde says we can cure today's health care crisis by enabling every American consumer to demand the answers to two question: "Which are the best doctors and hospitals for my medical needs?" and "Which of them are the least expensive?" None of these answers are available now. They should be, and they can be. But to get there we must first correct the fundamental market and regulatory failure that has given us 7 decades of misguided actions by employers, government, insurers, medical providers, and consumers to produce the dysfunctional mess we have today. Hyde reveals how we can have affordable, portable health insurance and high-quality health care for everyone, and How we can double medical quality at half the cost Why the government must adopt 3 critical regulatory reforms The 7 key elements of health care reform to achieve 8 essential goals

The Hamilton Project at the Brookings Institution was established to foster policy innovation from leading economic thinkers—ideas based on evidence and experience, not ideology and doctrine. The overall goal is to promote America's long-term economic growth, and economic security for American families. This important book brings The Hamilton Project's approach to one of the most critical issues facing Americans today—health care. In Who Has the Cure? a team of noted economists and policy analysts emphasizes the importance of universal health care—not just its value to individual and families, but also the overall economy. They examine in detail four policy alternatives for achieving universal health insurance coverage that would also improve efficiency in the health care industry. The contributors to this volume also evaluate proposales designed to make health care more affordable and effective. Among the possible strategies studied here are an expansion of preventive care, income-related cost sharing, and reform of Medicare's prescription drug benefit.

A renowned authority from Harvard Business School confronts America's health care crisis-and how consumer control can fix it PRAISE FOR WHO KILLED HEALTHCARE? “A brilliant analysis... A must-read.” – Bill George, Professor, Harvard Business School and Former CEO of Medtronic “As it becomes more and more obvious to everyone that our current health care system is unsustainable, this is the book that had to be written.” – Daniel H. Johnson, Jr. MD, former president of the American Medical Association “Regina Herzlinger’s ideas to tackle the crisis of the U.S. health care system are based on keen knowledge of the system’s existing difficulties along with insights that introduce the reader to new streamlined choices that have the potential of getting both quantity and cost under control.” – Joseph Kennedy, founder, chairman, and president, Citizens Energy Corporation, CEO, Citizens Health Care, former representative (D-Mass) “Regina Herzlinger... offers a vision of the way things can be, should be, and will be sooner or later. The only question is: how long do we have to wait?” – Greg Scandlen, founder, Consumers for Health Choices“Regi Herzlinger has brilliantly articulated a better way – embracing the principles of competition and innovation that cause every other sector of our economy to thrive. Discharging American health care from the ICU can only happen by putting individual Americans – not politicians and bureaucrats – back in charge of their health care decisioins.” – U.S. Senator Tom Coburn (R-Okla), M.D. “Following on the heels of her landmark Market-Driven Health Care, Herzlinger lays it on the line with her expose of what many who work in the health care industry have felt in their gut. Now it is articulated in an entertaining and must-read portrayal, with you and me as the only way out.” – Dennis White, executive vice president for strategic development, National Business Coalition on Health“A wonderful Orwellian romp through issues which carry a deadly irony. The killers of health care are, of course, the third parties, each of which has an itchy palm and a commitment to profit or power which exceeds the commitment to service, with each engaging the others within a politically shaped box. Rarely has the case for the public been made with so much force, foresight, and wit, and a better way forward shown so clearly.” – James F. Fries, MD, Professor of Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine “You can practically hear the war chants as Professor Herzlinger sets out her view of what’s wrong with the health care system and how to fix it. You’d best read it so you can decide which side you will be on when the battle is joined.” – Paul Levy, CEO, Beth Israel Hospital, Boston, MA “Regina Herzlinger, the nation’s leading expert on consumer-driven health care, has given us a brilliant analysis of the flaws in our health care system and what it will take to get it back on track. Her latest book is a must-read.” – Bill George, Professor of Management Practice, Harvard Business School, Former CEO, Medtronic, and author of Authentic Leadership“You don’t have to agree with her diagnosis and prescription for the U.S. health care system, but you do have to read her book. Once again, Professor Herzlinger has put together a well researched, well written, and very provocative blueprint for the future of health care.” Peter L. Slavin, MD, President, Massachusetts General Hospital

Many Americans believe that people who lack health insurance somehow get the care they really need. Care Without Coverage examines the real consequences for adults who lack health insurance. The study presents findings in the areas of prevention and screening, cancer, chronic illness, hospital-based care, and general health status. The committee looked at the consequences of being uninsured for people suffering from cancer, diabetes, HIV infection and AIDS, heart and kidney disease, mental illness, traumatic injuries, and heart attacks. It focused on the roughly 30 million-one in seven-working-age Americans without health insurance. This group does not include the population over 65 that is covered by Medicare or the nearly 10 million children who are uninsured in this country. The main findings of the report are that working-age Americans without health insurance are more likely to receive too little medical care and receive it too late; be sicker and die sooner; and receive poorer care when they are in the hospital, even for acute situations like a motor vehicle crash.